(202) 691-5902 Tuesday, September 17, 2002 — 2002-09-17

In June 2002, employer costs for employee compensation for civilian workers in private industry and State and local government in the United States averaged $23.20 per hour worked, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Wages and salaries, which averaged $16.78, accounted for 72.3 percent of these costs, while benefits, which averaged $6.41, accounted for the remaining 27.6 percent. (See table 1.) Legally required benefits averaged $1.82 per hour (7.8 percent of total compensation), representing the largest non-wage employer cost. Employer costs for paid leave benefits averaged $1.59 (6.9 percent), insurance benefits averaged $1.63 (7.0 percent), and retirement and savings benefits averaged 78 cents (3.4 percent) per hour worked. In June 2002, private industry employer compensation costs averaged $21.83 per hour worked.